Common Names
Presently, 67,246 common names for 22,417 taxa,
including 34,369 common names of non-English origin,
have been entered into GRIN-Global. To avoid the necessity of treating the
multiple variations of a common name that can arise from differences in
spelling, word union, or hyphenation (e.g., sugar beet, sugar-beet, or
sugarbeet), we have attempted to standardize treatment of common names in
GRIN-Global by adopting the conventions of Kartesz and Thieret (1991) on matters
of union or hyphenation of group names and modifiers. Further decisions
on joining or separating the elements of common names follow usage in
Webster's Third New International Dictionary (Gove et al., 1961).
These rules dictate that group names are correctly applied only to certain
genera (such as rose for
Rosa
or vetch for
Vicia)
or families (e.g., grass for Poaceae). Some 619 "true
group" names are provided in GRIN-Global for genera. Usage of these true group names for
plants in other genera or families requires hyphenation or adjoining to
preceding modifiers (such as moss-rose for
Portulaca
grandiflora or milk-vetch for
Astragalus).
General terms, such as tree, weed, or wort, that cannot be linked to any
particular plant group always require adjoining or hyphenation. A few
exceptions to allow usage of some true group names for more than one genus
exist, such as pitcherplant for
Nepenthes
and
Sarracenia,
especially when genera have been recently dismembered, such as wheatgrass
for
Agropyron,
Elymus,
and
Elytrigia.
Common names have been extracted from a variety of
sources, such as floras, agronomic or horticultural works, or economic
botany literature. Although some names appear in several sources, at
least one source is presented in GRIN-Global for each common name. Sources are
frequently indicated using GRIN-Global literature abbreviations, expansions of
which can usually be found by consulting the references cited for that
taxon. No effort has been made to include every locally used common name
appearing in the literature; instead the focus has been to record those in
wider usage. Some common names clearly in restricted use, such as those
accompanying rare and endangered taxa, have been entered for reference
purposes.